Arcul
.Arcul (/ɑː®kʌl/ AHKUL; Arculian: Äcul, pronounced ɛɹkʌl), officially the United Monarchy of Arcul (Arculian: Koeninkeslont af Äcul), is a country located in the Northern Atlantic on the Arculian Archipelago. Its located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean however to the East it is bordered by the Scottish Sea. The Kingdom of Arcul is a Unitary State ruled by a Constitutional Monarchy and a Parliamentary Democracy which meets in the Premyirhüs which is based in Motzil. It is split into 6 Regions and 1 Special Region which are each in turn split into several Municipalities. The Country has a total of 18.4 million people who mainly live in the Major cities such as Yoenhapn , Motzil, Golfstat and Räoetorn which are very densely populated and have large Metropolitan Areas meanwhile in the countryside it is mainly dominated by Farms, Industry and Wilderness. The country is dominated by an Oceanic Climate which has Warm Wet Summers and Wet Cool Winters. It often snows very heavily in the northern half of the country with Artic winds affecting it almost every winter meanwhile in the summer the warm oceans and lakes heat the whole country giving it pleasant summers. The country was first inhabited by an unknown people who lived in small communities around the country and were sparsley populated however they eventually died out. Germanic Arculii Tribe arrived in the country via boats from Norway and settled throughout the country, the country remained a hotbed for tribal wars with bloodshead a constant threat in the land. The country was first discovered by celtic explorers who traded and wrote of the isolated land, the Saxons also visited and traded, peices of articfacts from ancient Arcul can be found as far afield as in Persia. After the establishment of the many duchies and Kingdoms the largest Kingdom the Kingdom of Pant which unified in 842 with the 2nd largest Kingdom, the Kingdom of Hanlont to form the United Monarchy of Arcul. This country eventually grew as the major power and unified the country but only after a civil war. By the 1800's the country had become very isolated with it having little influence and affect on the rest of the world, its only ally was the Kingdom of Sweden which converted the country to Protestantism. In WW1 and WW2 it was neutral much like Sweden. It became a member of NATO in 1950 and faught in all of its Conflicts providing Medical support. In recent times it has become a member of the EFTA and wishes to become part of the EU but hasn't put forward an aplication. Etymology The Name Arcul is of unknown origin. Most people speculate that it has roots in either slang or Gaelic however it is unknown which. History First Settlement Arcul was first inhabited by an unknown people who lived in small huts around fords in rivers, beaches and lakes. They had signs of primitive warfare and had little contact outside their culture but did show signs of trade and the abitlty to carve wood. These people died out before the arrival of the Germanic peoples and when they arrived the land was a blank forrested island with no inhabitants appart from local wildlife. The Germanic peoples are belived to have arrived as part of the Germanic migrations across Europe upon Longboats, they may have landed in Northern Scotland first but were kicked out by the Picts and then as a last resort they went to Arcul. The Germanic people who inhabit the island at this time weren't the exact same people who live in Arcul Today, the current inhabitants of modern day Arcul are a mix of those first settlers and the waves of colonists to come after plus the many migrants from UK and Ireland. The country eventually developed to a stage in which many tribes/clans lived across the country as semi-nomadic groups living off the land with a limited capability to farm and manage animals. This period of time lasted very long and these tribes left tonnes of 'wreckage' laden across the landscape such as abandoned camps, religious monuments and iron mines, this 'wreckage' is being dug up in modern times either by accident in a building or reovation project or as part of a deliberate archaelogical excavation. Christendom and the Early Middle Ages This Tribal period lasted for a very long time and they lived all across the land so by the collapse of the Roman Empire the were very backward and 'uncivilized', however this was simmilar to the many Germanic and Hunnic tribes that invaded from the East, so they were given a limited window to modernise, however they had to be contacted by the outside world before this could happen. This first contact occured some time around the eastablishment of the first European Kingdoms such as Dalriata, the Franks and Burgundy. The first contact was between the aforementioned Dalriata (a Celtic Kingdom that existed in the Western Isles of Scotland and Northern Ireland), they are believed to have made first conatct when small boats from Arcul were Fishing in the Scottish Sea, they were then spotted by another fishing boat from Dalriata. This first contact didn't seem like much but only a year later more and more people began to hear of a mythical land of Ergal. People then began to hear of this mythical land and by a few years after first contact a permenant trade route was built between the many costal communities and Dalriata. Over this time of modernization the country began to convert from Tribal to a Feudal society with the larger tribes becoming Kingdoms, Medium ones becoming Dutchies and the very small ones becoming Principalities. Civil War The first Kingdoms to be estbalished were the Kingdom of Pant, Hanlont and Keloe. They jostled for power over the smaller Principalities and Dutchies so they could dominate the Island, this power war began to escelate in 1054 when the Kingdoms of Hanlont and Pant decided to go to war over the smaller principality of Hëyllont. Hëyllont was a small principality which lies around the current day town of Hëylret (literally Hill road), at the mouth of a mountain pass therefore home to a Major Thoughroughfare for certain parts of the country. The war over this town dragged in more that a few princepalities and eventually all most all of the nations of Arcul were dragged into this conflict causing a civil war. The Conflict lasted for 10 years with many major battles and fluid front lines, it all ended with the Pantic King (Koeninkes Harlt III) being ousted after the Battle of Pantölik in his capital. This greatly changed the country as Pant was a more outward looking nation and had minor alliances with England whilst Hanlont relied all upon Arculian Allies, so when Hanlont won they decided the policies of all of the country making it very isolationist. Isolation Opening Up and Modern Day In Modern times (post WW2), Arcul has become a major stop off point in for trans-continental shipping as it is the first major landmass in Europe which has a sizeable population with a large economy. It was forced to open up by its public as they were scared of WW3 so they aligned themselves with NATO becoming one of the founding members and providing a sizable military force to the organization. In 1965 the country seemed to be on the path of prosperity much like other nations at that time, however it was to all change with the actions of a group of Christian Extremists in Kvektmot. The Group called the White Warriors or Blëyk Krighir began a campaign to fight the ever growing migrant population and globalization of the country. The BK began their campaign with a bang by setting off a carbomb in the city of Golfstat outside the local Synogogue killing 13. They then began to reach out to many other Rightwing Extremists across the nation and after around 10 year they began their major bombing campaign. They had around 40,000 members and on the 15th July 1972 they created mass chaos across the country with Three bombs going off in Yoenhapn and Motzil, a massacre in Kvekmot and the atempted assassination of the PM after he visited a local Mosque. This is believed to have been an attempted coup but after that several minor incidents occured over the next few decades. This is believed to have been a time when the extremists had become more peacefull. This period of peace lasted until 2001 when after 9/11 the BK began to be more active due to the fact that it felt threatened from Al-Qaeda and other Islamist Extremists, the BK eventually began to be more violent when in 2003 a Metro Train in Yoenhapn was blown up in Koeninkes Station, this again caused more and more people in the cities to become more liberal in opposition to the BK but in the countryside more and more people became conservative. The Latest and 2nd most major terror attack in Arcul was in June 2011 when the BK set fire to a set of flats, blew up 3 trains (in Sinogok, Zentrunhald and Bus Zentrun stations) and sniped several people outside the city synogogue, then taking hostages which ended after 1 month with a failed special operations mission and the destruction of the city synogogue via explosives. Meanwhile the country has become a very open in opposition to the Terrorists and is even contemplating becoming part of the EU however their bid is frozen. Geography Arcul is a hilly island located in the Northern Atlantic Ocean and is seperated from UK and the rest of Europe by the Scottish Sea. It is a very densley populated country and has been compared to Japan for the level of population density, people are often crowded into many flats in city centres and sprawling suburbia in the outskirts. The country is split into two by the Lakes that run from the Soentse to the Grehnttse, they are popular shipping and boating lakes but have recently become very polluted and an ongoing government scheme is trying to cean up these lakes. Climate The Country has a Oceanic Climate and is often hit by Weather fronts comming in from the atlantic creating a bleak coastal area and mountains. The green belt of plants,life and animals runs around the country between the hills and coast plus in the south on the coast due to its warmer position. The country has wet cool winters and warm wet summers with snow often falling in the Winter. Regions of There are 6 Regions and 1 Special Region that makes up the country, these are then split into municipalities/districts and then several more sub divisions. The country provides 50 MP's each leaders of their own Municipality or District. There are also Royal Divisions such as the many Dutchies and Princepalities of the Former country. Politics Government The Government is led by 50 MP's voted every local election into office, meanwhile the people vote for each position of the Goverment The MP's all vote upon decisions and policies in the Government however if an emergancy is at hand only the PM, Leader of the Opposition, Chancellor, Military Advisor, Deputy and Opposition Deputy have power (8 People). The country has many division of the Government but the Top 3 main Positions (outside of the Monarchy) are Prime Minister, Chancellor and Military Advisor. The Top Three people in the Monarchy are: the Monarch, the Heir and the Monarch's Partner. Foreign Relations The Country was very isolated and only had one contact in that Isolation Period, Sweden. Sweden therefore is considered its major Ally and previous governments have considered leaving NATO and becoming part of EU and a special Sweden-Arcul Partnership. The other more recent additions to its allies are Germany, Ireland, UK and Norway. It is involved in the War in Iraq and Afghanistan so it has been a target for Muslim Terroirsts however they've not succeded in carrying out an attack. Military The Military of the Country is one centralized force with the Navy, Army and Airforce all being one entity called the Arme'. They are more interconnected and can function without problems therefore are easier and more fluid to control. There country doesn't release its official figures of how many Soldiers, Boats, Planes etc they have so they can keep confidentuality over the rest of the world. The Army recruits anyone but disablities cause certain people to be only active in peace or inside Arcul. Military is also a used as a part time Police force and they can be seen in certain parts of the country as part of the controling of the country against Terrorists, Chaos and Riots. Economy The Economy of Arcul is mainly based upon manufacturing and logging industry with Pine Being harvested from large sections of the country in forrested areas across the country. The Manufacturing side of the Country is based mainly upon design and production of Cars plus the production of traditional furiture and other items made from wood. The Cars are generally made by Hast who design cars in their company town of Äutostat (Car City) which is a massive facility all based upon the making of cars. Energy The country is undergoing a Green Revolution to try and covert 60% of the countrys energy source to Renewable Power. At the Moment it is generally provided by Oil from the Scottish Sea, however this is publically becoming unpopular after an Oil Tanker spitl oil off the coast of Blëykgolf causing a minor environmental diasaster. The green party is also becoming more and more popular especially in the South where the Oil spill happened with there bing 2 Green MP's in Parliament. Transport The Country is criss-crossed by around 14 Highways that connect the country and hundreds of A roads that connect more rural places. The Train Network in the country is very large and dense made up of 3 Main componants: Syell-Bäun HSR, Äculisk-Bäun and the Many local Train networks (the largest being the Yoen-Bäun). There are also metro Systems that exist in Yoenhapn, Yoevir, Motzil, Golfstat, Zoenstat, Keloekrek and Räoetorn, accompanying them is the Stat-Bräl (S-B) or City-Rail system. It is a commuter rail system much like the French RER, German S-Bahn and London Overground, they exist in Yoenhapn, Motzil, Räoetorn and their commuter cities. There is also a large network of major airports connecting every region in the country, the largest at the moment is Motzil International Loefthapn however the £2bn renovation project on the Tae Yoes International Loefthapn will make it the largest in the country and one of the largest in Europe and creating a new line of the Yoevir Metro. Demographics The first inhabitants of Arcul were an mysterious people who lived around the country in few numbers, today their genes can be found within that of the Arculian people who are believed to have intergrated with them. The country also is inhabited by many ethnic minority groups mainly British, Black, Muslim or Traveller. It is classed as having a stable birth rate with the population steadily rising with it being around 18.4 million, however in undesirable areas such as the North of the country where the BK activly operate, the mountains and several industry towns have a falling population, it is believed that these people are emigrating to Yoenhapn, Motzil and other major cities. Language Arculian is a Germanic language spoken by approx. 20 million people worldwide but generally in Arcul however major areas of speakers exist in neighbouring Ireland, Scotland and England plus around the world in major cities such as New York, Hong Kong and Paris. The language is very grammatically simmilar to English, German and Scots however its words are more simmilarly structured to Icelandic and Swedish. It is an official language in Arcul with the large majority of the population speaking it as a household language, it is also used in Parliament, by the Royal Family and the average person. Other languages do exist in the country as it has minority populations and a growing global influence. Some schools are beginning to teach English and French as part of the curriculum however this is in a minorty of schools. The Arculian Traveller community who are mostly a mix of Roma Gypsies, Irish and Arculian speak an ever shrinking language called Sistra however it can be considered a dialect of Arculian. Religion The majority religion in Arcul is Protestanism with approx. 60% of the population classifying themselves as a Protestant. This before the 'Free Religion Act' was the national religion and the official religion of the Royal Family and the Government. After the Free Religion Act it was available for any person of power to believe in any religion, this move was very controvesial when it was passed in 2005 with many people viewing that it was a sign that we were weakening in the face of Al-Quaeda and its attack on USA and Spain. Other religions exist at the moment such as Islam is ever growing in the cities and Sikhism is begining to place Temples across the country. Judaism is also very popular in the country with 10% of the population considering it as their faith (this is mainly due to the many evacuees from Norway and Germany in the Nazi period who left for Arcul. Heath and Education The Health system in Arcul is based upon the Universal Health Care System which means that a healthcare is funded by the Government via taxes, the public via donation and several other schemes. It is basically free for any taxpayer in Arcul to have healthcare. There are many Hospitals around the country, the largest is the Zoenstat Hospital which was purposely built with the construction of Zoenstat. Education is also free and funded by the taxpayer in Arcul. It is also compulsary for all Arculians between 5-18 to go to school if you don't then your child shall be taken from the parents if they're aware of their absence, if not the child will be punished by being sent to a military academy. Culture Literature Media There are Three major sources of information in Arcul, TV, Radio and Newspaper. The Media industry in Arcul is dominated by Two Giants: Fulks Press Acul (FPA) and A-Press. They own together 70% of the media outlets in Arcul, this is often critisized as they can in theory influence the people across the country to believe in their oppinions. This is claimed to have been shown in the 2003 General Election when the FPA alledgedly showed more of the Allied Parties policies and oppinions than that of any other party, the Christian Democrats often complain about this and want to divide the FPA and A-Press into smaller more independent Organizations. The Main newspaper in the country is the Koeninkes Press which is also the 2nd oldest newspaper in the country, it has a generally Conservative view upon things in the country and is run by the A-Press. Other Newspapers include the Oebirg Times which is the largest English Newspaper, Tae Y and the Aculisk Press. The first 10 TV stations in Arcul are A-TV 1, A-TV 2, Fulks Channel, News One, Sports TV, Fulks News, Citi-TV, Fulks Children, Fulks Documentary and A-TV News. There are 3 Main Radio stations, they are A-Radio 1, A-Radio 2 and A-News. Music and Dance Cuisine Arculian Food is very basic European Cuisine based upon Patatoes and Grains which are found upon the Islands. Meat is also a very big part of any dish in Arcul with almost every meat being acceptably eaten from Horse to Pig, even a few dishes contain Wolf or Dog. Gravy is also very important in any dish along with Brown Bread, these together are often served as a started much like a side dish of chips or nachos would be in any other country. Vegetarians haven't really made it to Arcul as meat is such an important part of the Diet of an Arculian. Milk is considered a very healthy drink in Arcul plus its considered more mature than it is in the rest of the world. Goats, Cows and Sheep milk are all drunk and even used in dishes as a sauce (Beef Keek is a popular dish using Beef and Cows Milk as a sauce). Sport Football is the most popular sport in the country with AFC Räoetorn being the countries best football team. The FA of Arcul (Arculian: Poetbael Bünk af Acul) is the governing body of Football in Arcul and it organises the First Division or Koeninkes Leg ''and the Second Division or ''Foerit Leg ''It also organises the Poetbael Cup. It is based in Motzil in the Hapn Quarter. The Second national most popular sport in Arcul is Ice Hockey, it is often called the Winter Sport and is watched by most of the public when the Football Season Ends, the best team in the country is the YVFV Rangers (Yoevroenfvir Rangers) which is part of the Arculian Hockey Association (Arculian: ''Aculisk Hokiy Bünk). Other Sports are popular such as Rugby, Cricket and Basketball however they're not considered major sports outside of their stronghold towns (Rugby is very popular in the norther town of Vaxhëyl which only has around 200,000 residents however it has 4 Rugby Clubs, the national Rugby grounds and a Rugby Training centre used by professional players from all around the world). Symbols and Society Arcul is a very patriotic society, years of isolation led the country to become very hostile to outward interferance therefore these symbols are treasured greatly. The Country originally had its national animal as the Lake Shark which swims in the freshwater lakes in the middle of the country, however over time its been replaced by the Lion which when first seen by the Arculian King led to him bowing before it. The Lions are on the national coat of arms and formerly on the flag however that has been replaced for a plain flag. The National Flag features bands of White, Red and Black, these are the traditional colours of the three Kingdoms of Pant, Hanlont and Keloe. They were aranged in the fashion as shown as to distinguish it from the Flag of the German Empire. The Country is often stereotyped as Efficient, Isolated and Liberal, most of which is true however it is becoming ever more open plus more and more conservative with the rise of the BK.